ANA Testifies on Capitol Hill in Support of Nursing Workforce Development Programs; Submits Statement on Safe Patient Handling
On May 12, ANA First Vice President Debbie Hatmaker, PhD, RN-BC, SANE-A testified before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies on the need for additional funding for nursing workforce development programs.
Dr. Hatmaker urged lawmakers to increase funding for Title VIII programs, calling the current funding levels “insufficient to address the growing nursing shortage.” Dr. Hatmaker cited several studies detailing the impact of the current shortage on patient safety, including a 2007 study in the journal Medical Care which demonstrates the link between nurse staffing levels and quality of care. The study suggests that adding 133,000 RNs to the acute care hospital workforce would save nearly 6,000 lives a year. She also pointed out the increased role of advanced practiced registered nurses (APRNs) in the delivery of high quality, cost-effective care, especially in traditionally underserved areas. Hatmaker referenced a recent study from the Journal of Rural Health showing that 80 percent of nurse practitioners who attended programs supported by Title VIII chose to work in underserved areas after graduation.
To read the testimony submitted on behalf of the American Nurses Association to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, please click here.
The ANA also submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety’s hearing on Safe Patient Handling and Lifting Standards for a Safer American Workforce. For almost two decades, ANA has been leading the fight on behalf of registered nurses, health care workers and patients to eliminate manual patient handling. A safe patient handling program decreases injury to nurses, other health care workers and patients, while reducing work-related health care costs and improving the safety of patient care delivery.
To read the statement submitted for the record to the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, please click here. To find out more about safe patient handling and what ANA is doing to advance this issue, please visit ANA’s website dedicated to safe patient handling: www.anasafepatienthandling.org.
Tags: ANA First Vice President Debbie Hatmaker, Education and Related Agencies, Health and Human Services, House Subcommittee on Labor, May 2010, Nursing Workforce Development Programs, PhD, RN-BC, Safe Patient Handling, SANE-A, Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, Title VIII, www.ANASafePatientHandling.org
